Star Trek: Personal
by Cortana Hansen
Summary: Daniels isn't on Enterprise just for a mission. He also has a personal connection to this moment in history, a rather deep connection.


**This is a oneshot about Daniels and why he joined the Temporal Agency. This takes place before Archer found out Daniels was a Temporal Agent. :) Hope you like!**

 **P. S. If there are any loopholes, please tell me. Thanks!**

. . .

Daniels set the plate of scrambled eggs in front of Archer. "There you are, Captain. Enjoy."

"Thanks Daniels. You make some damn good scrambled eggs," Archer commented, grinning as he picked up his fork. T'Pol raised an eyebrow, looking at the eggs.

"I have never seen eggs prepared in such a manner," T'Pol said. She took a bite of her salad after speaking. "It... looks very strange."

Archer just laughed at that.

"I should go," Daniels told them. Then he exited the room, feeling somewhat elated. Pleased with himself, even. The mission was going well, though he hadn't found Silik yet. But it wouldn't be long before he found him, he was sure.

On his way back to his quarters, Daniels thought about his assignment. His mission. His life's work. But there was much more to this than just his task.

Suddenly he bumped into Hoshi Sato. "Oh, I'm sorry!" Daniels looked at the stunned girl worriedly. "I wasn't paying attention. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Hoshi told him. "Thank you." She paused, then said, "We're having a movie in the mess hall tonight. _The Princess Bride_. Are you coming?"

"I wouldn't miss it for anything," Daniels replied, smiling. Hoshi grinned.

"That's great! See you then." With that, she walked off to get back to her duties.

Daniels continued on his way back to his quarters. After a few minutes, he arrived. The door slid open and he stepped inside. Good. His roommate was out for the day. He needed the privacy.

Daniels opened the drawer of his nightstand and shuffled around the contents. _"Where is it?"_ he asked himself. _"Where...?"_ He finally found it under a book. The cloth was faded, but the image was still visibly imprinted on it. It had a circle-shaped patch, with a ship on the side. And on the patch it said _Enterprise NX-01._

Daniels sat down on his bed, looking at the patch. His grandfather had given it to him. And he began thinking of the story his grandfather told him. About his ancestor, Captain Archer.

. . .

 _Many years ago..._

"Grandpa!" A young Daniels, of about four or five, ran across the lawn of his backyard to the porch where his grandfather sat, reading a novel. The old man looked up from his book.

"What is it?" Daniels' grandfather asked as the boy bounded onto the porch. "Did your brother steal your duck again?"

"No," Daniels replied, approaching his grandfather. "I want to join Starfleet when I grow up."

This really grabbed his grandfather's attention. "Say what?"

"I want to join Starfleet when I grow up," Daniels repeated. "But Mum and Daddy don't like that. They say there's nothing left to explore. Why do they say that?"

His grandfather sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Come on, sit down. I'm going to tell you a story."

"A story!" Daniels practically jumped at that in his excitement. "What about?" Quickly and eagerly he sat down as he asked.

"It's about a Captain. One of our ancestors. His name was Captain Jonathan Archer."

"What's an antester?" Daniels asked, oblivious to the fact that he just mispronounced "ancestor."

"A relative who has been dead for a very long time," his grandfather responded, chuckling. "Now let me continue. He was the first Captain to ever command a ship that could go up to Warp 5."

"What's Warp?" Daniels asked.

"You'll probably learn all this when you go to school, you know," the old man pointed out.

"But I like it when you tell me stories!" Daniels whined. "Please!"

"Oh, alright. Anyway, it began in the early 2150's. The ship he commanded was the _Enterprise NX-01..."_

. . .

 _Back in the 2150's... on Enterprise..._

Daniels stroked the patch softly, recalling that story. It was such a long time ago. Then, his grandfather was bright, happy, and full of life. Within a few months, though, his health simply deteriorated. And he died. If only his grandfather were there when Daniels joined the Temporal Agency. If only he was here, to see his grandson, with one of their greatest ancestors in history.

He joined the Temporal Agency to protect the one thing his grandfather appreciated most- history. But his grandfather would never know. And there was nothing he could do to change that.

Daniels stood up from his bed, and placed the patch back in the drawer. He closed it, and stood there a while, reminiscing.

 _"Wherever you are,"_ he thought, _"I hope I've made you proud."_

. . .

 **Okay, so yeah, I always kinda fancied the idea that Daniels also had a personal reason for being on _Enterprise._ Lol! Well, I hope you all liked it! :) **


End file.
